Repairs continue after downtown San Mateo gas line break

Things are getting back to normal in downtown San Mateo this afternoon after a natural gas pipeline rupture led to evacuations and a brief shelter-in-place warning from police.

A Caltrans subcontractor performing some trenching work punctured a steel pipeline 2 inches in diameter around 8 a.m., San Mateo police Sgt. David Norris said.

Norris said contractors working along the 300 block of South El Camino Real in the city's downtown area flagged down a San Mateo Fire Department engine company to report the break.

Fire officials immediately contacted police, and the two agencies began evacuating two buildings -- the Bank of America at 300 S. El Camino Real and the U.S. Bank at 136 Second Ave. -- and sent a Rapid Notify alert to all homes and businesses in the immediate area advising them to shelter in place, Norris said.

PG&E crews responded and shut off the gas supply by 10:54 a.m., a little more than two hours after the subcontractor hit pipeline, according to PG&E Spokeswoman Brittany Chord.

El Camino Real was shut down between Third and Fourth avenues and traffic was re-routed with the help of Burlingame police, Norris said.

PG&E crews dug a pit on the northbound side of El Camino to allow gas to seep out, and will work to repair that area and the line throughout the afternoon, Chord said.